Sports Secretary Andy Burnham has unveiled a multi-million package to ensure Olympic fever continues to rage.

He travelled to Bath the UK School Games to pledge more coaching and competition for all young people by the time of the 2012 London Olympics.

He promised cash for sports such as cricket and tennis, and a chance for youngsters to try out more unusual ones including kayaking and even dodgeball.

Mr Burnham, a keen footballer, hopes the cash will ensure Britain builds on the huge success of the Beijing Olympics, which yielded an unexpected gold rush.

He claimed there had been £1.5 billion investment in school sport since 2002.

Sport England also unveiled a £36 million scheme to give youngsters the chance to try more unusual sports.

The cash, including more than £3m for the South West.

Over three years, 900,000 youngsters will choose from a wide range of sports, and the aim is for a third of them to join clubs and continue with the sport when the 10 weeks are over.

The Sport England programme has already been successfully run in 12 trailblazing areas including Somerset and Herefordshire.

Mr Burnham announced the scheme at the Bath games, where more than 1,500 elite schoolchildren from all over the UK were competing in nine sports over three days.

The games, including events in Bristol and swimming at Millfield School, Street, Somerset, were officially launched by Olympic double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, who at 19 is not much older than some competitors.

Mr Burnham said: "The UK School Games are the pinnacle of the school sport system and shows how a culture of competition and excellence has been reintroduced to our schools.

"Since Beijing it is has become widely acknowledged both here and abroad that we now have a world class system for developing medal winners.

"But rivals like Australia are not just looking at our elite sport system any more. Outside Britain they are now also acknowledging the giant leaps we have made in school sport.

"Despite these improvements, it still feels like some people are stuck in a time warp when it comes to their perceptions of school sport in this country. It's not the Eighties any more.

"School playing fields aren't being sold off left, right and centre. PE is not being abandoned from the timetable and competition is no longer a dirty word. In fact there has been a dramatic and unparalleled transformation of school sport that emulates the transformation of elite sport in Britain."

But Bath MP and Liberal Democrat sports spokesman Don Foster said: "The money announced is not new and will barely scratch the surface of what's already been taken away from grassroots sport to cover the Olympic budget black hole.

"In recent years the Government has invested billions of pounds into sport so people have the right to expect significant progress.

"However, in reality people are less active, obesity levels are skyrocketing, and every year huge numbers of school children are still dropping out of sport the second they leave school."

And Tory spokesman Jeremy Hunt added: "Despite the rhetoric there is still no real sign the Government is addressing the problems in school sport, not least that there are nearly one million children who do not even get two hours of sport a week."

Meanwhile, all eyes were glued to Somerset swimmers Lucy Titchin and Harriet Ostler as the UK School Games continued yesterday.

The 15-year-olds from Somerset competed in the School Games which is seen as a springboard event for young athletes hopeful of making it to represent Britain in the London 2012 Olympics. About 1,500 young people are taking part.

Hockey players Stefanie Jones and Annabel Hockey- Smith from Bristol and Somerset competed in the hockey events, and Bristol-born Garth Kinlocke represented the city in the table tennis championships.

Volleyball and fencing events took place on the University of Bath campus and judo tournaments took place in Filton College, Bristol. Ambassador for the School Games, sprinter Jason Gardener was seen watching the volleyball event yesterday.

Spokesman for UK School Games, Alistair Henderson said yesterday: "It's been a great start. The students were up at an early hour but they were in high spirits. There was lots of cheering and the weather is holding up."